The two pentads of recovery passed in a blur.

Atlas stayed within his insula unit for almost the entire time, only leaving for essentials like food and medicine and for books to read while he rested. Naile, his roommate, never returned from the Foundries of the Second Pillar leaving alone.

By the two pentads’ end most his injuries had turned from bloody cuts into pink new skin. The larger lacerations were still healing, fortunately without infections. They were packed with a poultice that he had purchased from an herbalist after some consideration.

His body was still very stiff. He was worried if he turned too quickly he would tear open his injuries. Now his range of motion was approaching normal. In another pentad he would be well. Hopefully it would coincide with the end of the tainted wave.

The events on the Fool’s Road had left him with a lot to reflect on. His shortcomings had made him realize that he needed to improve himself if he wanted to survive such an encounter again without relying on blind luck. Both his repertoire techniques and his martial skills needed improvement.

Atlas had wanted to resolve the issue of techniques in these two pentads. From his experience he reasoned that he needed two techniques, one for combat and one for endurance, ideally for running. Due to the restricted nature of qi techniques in the modern age Atlas had decided to search for techniques as he always did, through the historical and largely unmoderated archives of the Kereta Tinith Library; ancient treatises, production manuals and the likes.

Fortunately, he still had access to the library. The penalties that typically were applied to books that weren’t returned had been waved in wake of the tainted wave.

After these two weeks Atlas had found no success in finding the techniques he wanted. But he wasn’t disheartened, though he had failed in his original aim he had instead found something even more interesting and possibly valuable.

Atlas had stumbled upon a book titled the, “Making a Candle Starting from an Empty Palm”. At first it had appeared to be a coincidence, just another book on candle making, unrelated to the “Candles of the Twinfold Sect” he had read on the road a week earlier. But as Atlas read on, he realized that they were inextricably linked. Both had been written in a similar time period and seemed to have been in close physical proximity to one another. The new book “Making a Candle Starting from an Empty Palm” went as far as to spend several pages on the Twinfold Sect.

The Twinfold Sect was described as a reputable organization with a long history of quality. The majority of the description waxed poetics on their amazing craftsmanship. Oh how white and bright their candles burned without even a hint of smoke. Oh the beauty of their metal work, from the details painstakingly etched into their candlesticks to the majesty of their chandeliers. And so on…

It was the last words on the Twinfold Sect that drew Atlas’s attention.

Though generally respectable and courteous the Twinfold Sect are devout Prometheans, that is to say that they believe in the divinity of Prometheus. (I say this not as a condemnation but rather a forewarning and context for the inner workings of the sect.)

Every aspiring apprentice of the sect must undergo a religious initiation process known as [Preparing the Candle] and succeed in [Igniting the Flame] if they wish to become a full member of the sect. Many who are there to learn the trade but are not Prometheans will instead choose to leave after completing their apprenticeships.

The concept of the Flame stems from the mythos surrounding Prometheus. They believe that Prometheus gave the spark of life to humanity (among other things). That this spark can be nourished and grown into a flame. But it can also flicker and die. For the Twinfold Sect they employ the [Preparing the Candle] process of turning the spark to a flame.

[Preparing the Candle] is a religious practice, but also brings notable material benefits upon [Igniting the Flame]. Notably there is a large increase in available qi and a more physically fit body. This type of enhancement is desirable for craftsmen like them as it allows them stamina, precision and clarity of mind.

What the method behind [Preparing the Candle] is, is not publicly available and disclosing such an important and cherished religious rite would gather no shortage of hatred and censure. (I will note that the more detailed description of [Preparing the Candle] bears a striking resemblance to chronic qi starvation. The only major difference is that with [Igniting the Flame] the initiate does not lose the ability to hold qi in the body nor the ability to use qi to sharpen the mind. This beneficial difference is likely exaggerated by religious fanaticism and should be taken as mere hearsay.)

If one wishes to know the specifics or to be inducted into the sect and the Promethean religion, it is recommended that they visit the Twinfold Sect and enter into an apprenticeship.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Atlas’s curiosity and interest were aroused by the book.

A craftsmen’s sect with an initiation ritual that enhanced the body and the spirit.

Both the method itself, [Preparing the Candle], and the corollary concept of chronic qi deprivation seemed remarkably similar to his current circumstance.

Now what Atlas needed was the book “Candles of the Twinfold Sect” and a place with general information on candles and the Promethean religion. With that he was sure he would find them secrets of the Twinfold Sect.

It was time to head back to the Third Pillar of Tinith, the Kereta Tinith Library.

Atlas stepped out of his unit. The door closed behind him with a click, locking in place. He went down the many steps and came out onto the street.

The familiar road greeted him, the many old shops and the occasional newer one. Here there was only a middling density of people, with a few dozen passersby on the same road. The morning day was bright and hot, the air dry and clear. Breathing in deeply, Atlas joined into the endlessly moving throngs and headed to the Third Pillar.

He made his way to Road One, it was named by its position on a sundial, west of north. Once it had been known by another more dignified name, but it had given way convenience to and ease of understanding. His insula was in the Outer District of the Third Pillar near the outer end of Road One, by heading inwards along the road he would reach the Third Pillar.

The many unfamiliar, nameless denizens whisked past Atlas. They paid him no mind engrossed in their own lives. In this city, on this continent upon this world he could list his personal connections on one hand.

A profound loneliness entered his heart, his family was an unfathomable distance away and unless he rose to prominence or fortune, he would likely never see them again. He had not and still did not regret his decision to strike out on his own, even after the years of only carving out a meager life of his own. But the recent brush with death has been gnawing away at his thoughts. A stroke of luck was what separated me from being another body of the Fool’s Road. Would I even be missed? It’s not like I’ve made a noticeable impact on the world or even for those around me. Maybe my friends would be sad for a few days, then they would move on…”

Atlas tore himself away from the dark thoughts, he had reached his destination.

The Kereta Tinith Library, the Third Pillar of the Order was a sight to behold. The exterior of the library was a smooth and shiny black obsidian that reflected a rainbow of colors. It was dome shaped and was taller than it was wide, rising sixty meters into the sky. The library was supposedly built in the likeness of the first great library which, legend held, was an egg of a primordial behemoth. The black dome sat on a concrete base slightly larger wider than the diameter of the done and at a height of seven meters. The base had sloped limestone curtain walls with square pillars at each entrance. The faces of each pillar had neat rows of script detailing the history of the Third Pillar. At the front entrance a large pair of doors were held open allowing access into the library from Road One.

Once inside Atlas was met by the crisp, cold air and by the quiet atmosphere. It was in stark contrast to the bustling and hot environment that was Road One and most of Tinith beyond.

In the center of the library a huge circular atrium reached up all sixteen floors until it reached the peak of the crystalline black dome. Within the atrium was a pair of staircases forming a double helix, each had a diameter of ten meters including steps two meters wide. They were connected only to the ground and on each floor giving the illusion that they could stand on their own.

The ground floor had a vaulted ceiling at twice the height of a normal floor. A thin layer of limestone covered the interior walls and concrete supporting columns. Similarly to the pillars outside the entrance they had on them fine script etched and inlaid with silvered metal.

The ground floor was mostly to all and consisted mostly of services adjacent to the library, daycare, educational materials, bookstores, language classes and so on. These took up almost all of the large square floorplan with the services for the library itself forming a small ring around the helical stairs. These took the form of circulation desks for borrowing and returning books along with other general tasks like issuing library passes.

Arias walked through the first floor heading directly for the stairs. He ignored the many open stands and services; he was on a mission after all.

Beyond the circulation desks the actual stairs were enclosed behind a wrought iron fence. There were four entrances aligned to the entrances of the library. The ironwork on the fence and gates was beautifully crafted and made to resemble the waves of an ocean.

At each entrance a series of six smaller gates formed a barrier. Three gates, marked with a “Λ”, allowed for visitors to enter through while three gates marked with a “⸎” allowed them back out. Each gate took the form of a pair of wrought iron doors eight feet tall with a combined width of a meter. The doors were anchored to posts on either side, posts which were shared between the doors.

Atlas approached one of the gates and took out his library pass, a metal hexagonal cylinder the width and length on a thumb. The post on the right-hand side of the gate had a protrusion with a flat face and a hexagonal opening to insert a library pass for verification. It was slanted to ease usage for someone a few feet shorter than Atlas. Atlas jiggled the pass against the slot, struggling with the angle. Once aligned the pass slid smoothly in with barely a millimeter of extra space. The sounds of whirring and rhythmic clicking of well-oiled gears came from the reader as it scanned and verified the code on the pass. A few seconds later a single chime rang out from the turnstile and his pass came back out of the slot.

When Atlas removed his pass from the scanner the gates swung open allowing him through.

On his way up the spiraling stairs, he noted the other floors of the library. The second and third floors were for fiction. The fourth floor was also for fiction, but behind another set of gates with restricted access. The fifth, sixth and seventh floors were for non-fiction. Then came the eighth through fifteenth floor, the miscellaneous archives. Finally, was the sixteenth floor, which was a maintenance level closed to the public.

Atlas rubbed his hand together in anticipation. His mind whirled with possibilities.

It was time to uncover the secrets within the “Candles of the Twinfold Sect”.